


Resurrection

by Kuzuriolu



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Blood, Death, F/M, Happy Halloween!, Major SDR2 Spoilers, Post-Despair, Supernatural Elements, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 05:21:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1027709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuzuriolu/pseuds/Kuzuriolu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(A fanfic for Halloween!) Things don't go as planned, and the comatose students pass away. However, Kuzuryuu is determined to bring back Peko, no matter what...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Resurrection

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This work contains triggering material such as blood, death, very graphic violence. I wrote this as a kind of messed up Halloween Fic, so naturally, this piece is kind of... Very messed up. Since it's Halloween, it does contain supernatural elements you wouldn't otherwise see in Dangan Ronpa canon.
> 
> I decided to post this on it's own because it's not the same length as my other "prompts" and I felt as though the content was a little too messed up for that collection.
> 
> This fic is unbetaed. Naturally, there are SDR2 endgame spoilers.

They didn’t give up hope until their heart monitors stopped. Day after day, the survivors worked hard to find a way to wake their dead friends up, sometimes even staying up all night to try new methods. With the kind of hope that they had, it was sure to be a success. Even when all seemed futile, each and every one of them hoping, knowing that their lost friends would soon return.

Kuzuryuu was one of these lucky survivors. Well, he wasn’t exactly lucky. He had survived but only because of his best friend Peko, who had sacrificed herself for his sake. The days without her had been living hell. He spent every moment thinking about her and her sacrifice, and about how he never got a chance to tell her what he really felt about her. She died not knowing what she truly meant to him.

Naturally, he was overjoyed when he heard there was a small chance he could bring her back. He worked so hard to do anything he could to get her back. Every day, he sat by her comatose body, telling her all about what had happened when she was gone and what was happening now. He’d tell her he couldn’t wait for her to get up, because then he could tell her how he felt about her, and they could enjoy this island paradise together without restraints. He told her the dreams he had about her and him, and what he planned to do with her when she woke up.

He was the boss of his family, now. There was no one who could deny their relationship. They were free to love each other as openly as they wanted. In his wildest dreams, Kuzuryuu even considered asking her to marry him the moment she woke up, sometimes. He declared this intention to her often when he was by her side.

Kuzuryuu clung onto the hope that Peko would come back with every fiber of his being. 

One day (October 30th, to be precise), when he came to her side, he noticed her heart had stopped beating.

"She can’t be dead!" screamed Kuzuryuu to the others, tears falling down his face in uncontrollably streams. "We were going to be together again!"

"I know you were," whispered Hinata, who was struggling not to cry as well. "We all were going to be together again."

Akane slammed her fist down on the capsule containing the man who she had been waiting on. “Damn it, Nidai! You’re stronger than this! So why?” she demanded.

Sonia said nothing, she simply sat at the side of Gundam Tanaka, crying for him. Souda was gritting his teeth, tears openly falling down his face.

But Kuzuryuu was sure that none of them were as devastated as he was. Crouching down by the side of the girl he so desperately had wanted to see again, he let his tears splatter down onto her dead body as he openly screamed and sobbed. His cries were the loudest of everyone.

"T-There’s only one thing we can do now," mumbled Hinata. "We have to bury them properly…"

"No!" shouted Kuzuryuu, turning around to stare at Hinata in the eye, anger written all over his face. "We have to give them more time! What if they come back?"

Hinata shook his head. “I’m sorry, Kuzuryuu… But…” he clenched his fist, hiding his expression from the others. “They’ve already left us…”

The others were shocked and upset, but none of them felt as Kuzuryuu did. He was just in denial. Peko was going to come back, right? She was going to come back to his arms, and then he was going to tell her how much he loved her, and how he needed her, how he never wanted her to leave him again—

He just sat there as the others dug ten deep holes in the ground near the beach and began to move and bury the bodies. His eyes were staring into nothingness. It felt as though there was no meaning for his existence anymore. What was the point, if Peko wasn’t going to come back? 

"Kuzuryuu," called Hinata gently. "Do you want to bury her?"

Kuzuryuu walked over. Peko’s body had been placed on the sand. She was pale and unmoving as always, her heart never to beat again. He didn’t have the strength to even respond to Hinata’s question. He simply stared at the body of the girl he had wished to spend his whole life with.

"Come on, he’s not going to do it," Souda said. "Let’s just do it for him."

Hinata nodded. Souda and him lifted up Peko’s body away from Kuzuryuu and placed her down in the deep hole, her final resting place. The mechanic reached for the shovel and was about to cover her body, when Kuzuryuu suddenly snapped out of his trance.

"Don’t bury her!" he screamed at them between sobs, desperation in his voice. "She’s not dead yet! I know! Because I promised her that I would see her again!"

Hinata looked heartbroken. “I’m sorry, Kuzuryuu…”

It took them about an hour to convince him to let them bury her. They gently put her shinai where she rested in place of a proper headstone. 

That night, they had to drag him away from her grave.

Kuzuryuu lay in bed, but he could not sleep. His eyes were wide open and staring at the ceiling. His Peko was gone for good this time, even though he was told that she could come back to him, and even though he promised her that she would. 

Peko was gone.

Peko was gone.

Peko was gone

Peko was… gone?

The boy pulled himself out of bed and stepped into his shoes. He wandered away from his motel room to wander around the island for a bit, thinking over what had just happened. He avoided her grave, not wanting to face the reality that she was really gone from him, and this time, for real. He didn’t know what his real goal was, wandering around the island like this. It was better than staying awake in bed thinking only of her, though.

The island was dark and desolate. It felt lonelier than it had back during the School Life of Mutual Killing. It felt more dangerous, even, despite the fact that there was nothing on this island that could kill him.

After several minutes of wandering, he happened to come across the library. He sighed. Maybe some reading would do him some good and take his mind off of things. He stepped into the giant library, which was completely dark and barren of life. Hundreds upon hundreds of books lined the walls, all of different kinds. In order to occupy his despair-ridden mind, he gazed over the titles of the books.

Until something caught his eye.

The boy’s heart froze in his chest when he saw it. It was an old, dusty book, black like night with every inch of it screaming “danger!” Drawn to it, Kuzuryuu grabbed it up, and read the title.

"DARK MAGIC AND SPELLS."

Magic? Spells? Curiously, he flipped through the pages. He wasn’t one to believe in things like this, but for some reason, he couldn’t help. Something in the back of his mind was prodding at him, reminding him of Peko. He would do anything to have her back…

There were a bunch of old, ancient rituals, full of dark magic like demon summoning and other stuff he never cared about. Some of them were more gruesome than others, and normally, they would have caused the boy to cringe in disgust in fear. However, he kept reading, and reading, and reading…

Until he found it.

An ancient spell to summon the dead back to living.

He grinned madly. This was absurd of him, but as he thought of Peko and all the things he wanted to do with her, his mind forgot all about how insane it was to do something like this. If this worked… If this really brought his Peko back to him… he would do anything.

He read the pages carefully. There were diagrams of what he needed to draw, and lists of what he needed to bring in order to bring her back. There was a specific spell he had to say in order to complete the ritual, as well. He folded the page over and placed it on a table. Then, he cleared a large space on the floor of the library that he would need in order to do this.

Kuzuryuu went to retrieve supplies from the store. When he came back, he carefully studied the diagrams and began to draw the summoning circle as closely as he possibly could. When he made a mistake, he instantly fixed it. There couldn’t be a single flaw in his drawing if he wanted to bring her back.

When he was sure he had perfected it, he gathered items from the store, and then ran to where she had been buried. He knew which one was her instantly, because they had left her shinai over it. He removed it and placed it into a cart he had brought from the store, and then took out the shovel and dug at her resting place.

He finally uncovered all the dirt and smiled. She wasn’t dead, really, he told himself as he gazed at her body. She was merely sleeping, and would awaken shortly.

It was hard, but he managed to drag her body up from under the pit. In the time he had forgotten, he had become much stronger, which helped him move her body over to the cart. Leaving the shovel behind, he pulled the cart with the shinai and her resting body back to the library.

The book said he needed her remains and a catalyst to revive her. He would use her beloved shinai for that purpose. He took another look at the picture in the book and dragged Peko’s motionless body to the direct center off the circle. Then, he gently placed the shinai on her.

He stepped back and looked at his work, comparing it to the diagram. He grinned madly when he noticed no discrepancies. If this madness truly worked, then his Peko would return to him, and he would finally tell her how much she meant to him. Then, they would live on, happy together at last.

Kuzuryuu checked the time. It was nearly midnight, October thirty-first. What a fitting time for a ritual such as this. Just for luck, he waited until the clock struck twelve to begin.

When the chime of the clock sounded throughout the library, he knew it was time. He picked up the book and began to recite the ancient, dark words. 

_“The one that I have lost so tragically…_

_From the Pits of Hell, come to me…_

_Come to me… Come to me…”_

The spell continued rambling on with similar phrases, but he didn’t notice any changes in Peko’s body. He knew this was a stupid idea, after all. However, a small spark of hope kept him going, kept him chanting the ancient, dark spell that had promised the return of his dead lover.

_“Come to me… come to me!”_

The circle flashed with a bright, purple light. Kuzuryuu dropped the book in astonishment and stumbled backwards, landing on his bottom. He stared in awe as the purple light turned to one of a crimson red, the very color of blood. 

A maniacal laugh cackled from somewhere, and then her body was engulfed in what appeared to be flames. The hellish fire reached up to the roof, but did not scorch anything aside from the body. And as suddenly as it started, it faded.

He blinked in surprise. Did it really work? Was that crap actually the real deal?

He heard her cough, and his heart leapt with excitement. Kuzuryuu ran over to the center, where his swordswoman was slowly beginning to pull herself up.

She was incredibly pale, and her eyes seemed to be redder than they ever were before. They locked onto him. “Young… Master… Fuyuhiko?” she spoke.

Kuzuryuu grinned wildly. “Peko!” he cried out with joy. He instantly dropped to her height and pulled her into a tight hug, tears running down his cheeks. “Oh god, it worked! It actually worked! You’re alive, Peko! You’re alive! We can finally be together now, just like I promised you we’d be!” he yelled out, clutching her.

"Young Master Fuyuhiko…" she uttered, but did not return the hug. 

Kuzuryuu pulled away from her and grinned. “Let’s go, Peko. I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

He excitedly led her away from the scene without bothering to clean up after himself. As he walked back to his room, he told her all about what had happened when she was gone, and how he thought that he had lost her for a second time. He then talked about how glad he was to have her back, and what he planned on doing with her.

"Do you promise to never leave me again?" he asked the girl, holding her hand tightly.

Peko nodded. There was a gentle smile on her face. “Of course, Fuyuhiko. I promise you.”

It seemed like a miracle to him, but it was only the beginning of a disaster.

That morning, he took Peko to meet the others at breakfast.

"What the hell?" screeched Souda. "Is that Pekoyama?"

"Pekoyama?" gasped Akane. "But we buried her yesterday, how did you…?"

Kuzuryuu grinned. “I guess she just didn’t want to leave me, after all,” he told them, not wanting to explain he had used some ancient dark magic in order to revive her. He was tightly holding onto her hand, never wanting to let go of it now that he had her back for good this time.

"Wow, that’s good!" Souda cried. "That’s good news for you, then!"

Hinata just smiled a little, but he seemed quite confused. Sonia didn’t say anything.

Kuzuryuu nodded, and then turned towards his swordswoman with a smile across his face. “Yes, it is.”

The yakuza heir and his revived swordswoman went to the beach to enjoy the sun and the presence of each other. Kuzuryuu was sitting in the sand, his body leaned against hers, their hands still entertained. They were both smiling peacefully as they watched the waves gently lap at the beach, listening to the sound of the seagulls crying above.

Kuzuryuu observed her. She was just as beautiful as she had always been. He couldn’t help but to reach out to stroke her cheek lovingly, causing her to smile.

"Fuyuhiko," she addressed him. "It is wonderful to be by your side once more."

"It is," he agreed enthusiastically. "I missed you so much…" he admitted. The boy gazed into her blood red eyes that were filled with love for him, which he reciprocated gladly. They spent about a minute just to stare and admire each other, before Peko moved to kiss him on the lips. Kuzuryuu was stunned by her bold gesture at first, but then began to kiss back, wrapping his arms around her. 

The two of them pulled apart when the need for air forced them to, but after a quick breath, they lunged for each other again, kissing passionately. They tumbled over on the sand and ended up lying with their bodies pressed closely as they kept up their very intimate kiss. His whole body was heating up, and not because of the sun.

Peko pulled away from him, smiling. “Fuyuhiko,” she whispered lovingly.

"Peko," he whispered back, caressing her face.

It was then that they heard footsteps nearby. They broke apart and looked to find Sonia wandering about the island, a look of terror plastered on her face. When she noticed that they were looking at her, she gasped in horror.

"What do you want?" Kuzuryuu asked, annoyed.

"I just needed to speak with you, alone. That’s all…" she replied.

Irritated, Kuzuryuu got up. “I’ll be back soon,” he informed Peko, his voice filled with affection.

She nodded, smiling at him. “I will wait right here until you return, Fuyuhiko.”

Sonia seemed nervous. She was fidgeting about and eyeing Peko as if she were some kind of awful creature. When Kuzuryuu got up, she lead him towards the beach house.

"What is it?" he grumbled.

"I saw what you did," Sonia answered. "In the library."

Kuzuryuu’s heart stopped. “What?”

"You summoned her, didn’t you?" her voice was slightly shaky, but there was an undertone of anger. "Why would you do something like that?"

Kuzuryuu was taken aback by her attitude. “What do you mean?” he demanded. “I saw the book and decided to bring her back, that’s all!”

"You don’t understand what you did!" the princess yelled. "That kind of dark magic is not to be played with! I know this kind of stuff!"

The yakuza huffed. “Yeah yeah, whatever,” he grumbled, not taking her words seriously in the slightest. “But Peko’s back, and that’s the only thing that matters. She promised she would never leave me again.”

Sonia narrowed her eyes. “No, you don’t understand! Kuzuryuu-san, you must get rid of her at once!” she ordered with all the authority of the princess that she was, though there was a hint of desperation in her voice.

"What?" yelled Kuzuryuu, shocked. "Are you telling me to kill Peko?"

Sonia nodded sternly. “I am.”

"No way! Are you crazy?" He could hardly believe she was trying to get him to do such a thing. Who did she think she was? He had finally got her back, and there was no way in hell that he would just kill her!

"I’m asking you, Kuzuryuu-san, because you don’t know what you’ve done, and—"

Kuzuryuu didn’t listen to the rest of the princess’s ramblings. Instead, he just turned around and walked off. He could be doing things with Peko right now, and he didn’t have time to deal with an upset girl who thought she knew everything. What did she know about Peko? What did she know about him? Clearly, she was foolish for even suggesting the idea of killing Peko.

When he returned, Peko was still there, exactly as she had been when he left her. “What was that about, Fuyuhiko?” she inquired.

Kuzuryuu shrugged. “Just her being stupid again. Nothing to worry about.” He quickly switched the topic. “Anyway, want to go for a swim with me or something?”

Peko nodded. “I would love to, Fuyuhiko,” she responded, a huge smile overtaking her face.

So the days continued. Kuzuryuu and Peko’s relationship couldn’t have been better. The two of them were in complete bliss, spending their days cuddled up against each other, kissing each other, laughing with each other… He couldn’t ask for anything more. It was like his greatest dream come true. Sonia did not try to talk to them again, but she was keeping her distance from the two of them. She refused to speak at all during dinner or whenever they were around, for that matter. Kuzuryuu wondered what her problem was. Everyone else was perfectly glad to converse with them. Until one night, where Souda decided that enough was enough.

"What’s your problem?" asked Kuzuryuu, raising his eyebrow at the suddenly very upset Souda.

"Sonia-san thinks there’s something strange about Pekoyama, and I think she’s right!" he declared, pointing at the swordswoman. However, despite the situation, she made absolutely no expression on her face, nor did she make a remark.

Kuzuryuu huffed. “Shut up, morons! Nothing’s wrong with Peko! She’s just like Peko!”

Hinata, however, seemed suspicious. “I mean, she did just kind of come back to life, so I can see where they are coming from…”

"She didn’t come back to life!" denied Kuzuryuu. "She was still alive when you burred her! I just happened to hear her when I was by her grave, so I dug her up and there she was! End of story!"

Sonia knew this wasn’t the truth, but she didn’t say anything. Souda, however, realized this and refused to believe his story.

"That’s not true!" he shouted. "Sonia-san is the expert on stuff like this, and if something’s not right, then something’s not right! I say we do something about it!"

Kuzuryuu felt anger boil up within him. “Shut up!” he yelled at the mechanic. “You’re fucking pissing me off, you asshole! Get the fuck away from Peko and don’t do shit to her, got it?”

Souda was still clearly upset. “But—!”

"Souda-san, that’s enough," intervened Sonia harshly. Her authority caused Souda to sit back down, grumbling to himself about how it was still fishy.

Kuzuryuu had gotten fed up with him. He left the table, Peko trailing right behind him as he did. The two of them entered his room, and he instantly collapsed on the bed, an annoyed look painted all over his face. 

"Who the hell does that guy think he is! Saying shit like that," he grumbled as he curled over on his side. "He needs to mind his own fucking business…"

Peko nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

That night, he slept curled up with Peko, as usual. He had been sleeping much better now that she was around, and every night was peaceful. He never once had trouble going to sleep, and never did he have any nightmares. Instead, he simply slept soundly, cuddling tightly against the body of his swordswoman. 

The next day, however…

Kuzuryuu was awoken by the doorbell being rung frantically. Grumbling, he forced himself away from Peko and opened the door.

On the other side stood Hinata, his face pale. “Kuzuryuu, Pekoyama, come quickly… The beach house!” he yelled.

There was a sudden lurch of terror in his heart. These last few days had been so perfect… what could have happened to cause Hinata to get so upset? Kuzuryuu pulled on his shoes and ran out of the door as fast as he could, leaving Peko behind. His heart was racing rapidly, each beat filled with panic. He knew this feeling all too well. It was the feeling of knowing something terrible had happened.

He reached the beach house, and the sight was horrific.

Souda was pinned against the wall, his body hung up by sharp nails hammered into the tips of his fingers. Blood was pooling down from enormous tears on his chest and stomach, and a look of shock and horror was forever painted on his face. The blood on the wall behind him was splattered in some sort of intricate pattern of lines and geometric shapes he had never seen before, but one he knew was ominous.

Kuzuryuu screamed at the terrifying sight. “What the hell… happened?”

Hinata shook his head. “I don’t know…”

"I was going to go for a swim, and then I found him like this…!" explained Owari, who was equally as terrified.

Sonia was in the corner, her eyes glossed over with horror at the brutal sight in front of her, but she said nothing at all. Kuzuryuu was about to question her when Peko stumbled in and saw Souda’s body.

She blinked in surprise as she observed it up and down. “Souda has been killed…” she observed. “In a most brutal fashion, too. It’s unthinkable.”

Sonia chose that particular moment to snap out. “You have no right to say that!” she yelled out, pointing directly at Peko. The swordswoman turned to look at her in the eye, but said nothing. 

"What’s wrong?" Hinata asked her.

"Pekoyama-san! That’s what’s wrong!" she accused. "She’s the one who killed Souda-san!"

Peko didn’t react to her accusation, but Kuzuryuu certainly did. “Whoa, what the hell? Why would you think Peko would do something like this?”

Hinata sounded interested. “Wait. Please tell me about why you think so,” he requested.

"I know the truth behind Pekoyama-san’s sudden reappearance," she declared. "Kuzuryuu-san didn’t just find her to be alive again. He summoned her back from the dead!"

Akane blinked in confusion. “What? Summoned?” she repeated. “Has Tanaka gotten to your head?” 

Sonia shook her head. “No! Just listen to me!” she commanded. Everyone obeyed instantly. “There’s a book on ancient rituals Kuzuryuu-san used to bring Pekoyama-san back. He used this very dark form of magic to summon her from the dead. But, the thing is—”

"Shut up!" yelled Kuzuryuu. "What the hell are you saying? I’m not some sort of black magic freak?"

Hinata looked doubtful. “I don’t exactly believe in that sort of thing, either…”

"But it’s the truth!" Sonia persisted. "Kuzuryuu-san tried to bring Pekoyama-san back, but…" She turned towards the swordswoman, anger blazing in her eyes. "The thing that he brought back… she isn’t Pekoyama-san anymore!"

Kuzuryuu felt pure rage seething within him. “Bullshit!” he screamed out. “Who the fuck would believe bullshit like that? Tanaka?” He sneered. “Your boyfriend’s dead! No one where is going to believe that shit! Besides, why the fuck would I do black magic in the first place? Who the fuck do you think I am?”

Sonia’s eyes widened at the mention of Tanaka. Bullseye. Her face darkened and she looked down at her shoes. “If that’s what you want to believe, Kuzuryuu-san…” she muttered. “But just be careful… and don’t say I never warned you…”

With that, Sonia walked off. Having had enough of her crap, Kuzuryuu returned to his room along with Peko.

"What stupid bullshit!" he growled, throwing himself on his bed. "I don’t know shit about who killed that Souda, but it sure wasn’t you!"

Peko smiled. “I’m glad you have faith in me, Fuyuhiko.” She climbed over onto the bed next to him, cuddling into his side.

Her warmth helped calm him down.

The next morning, he woke up with an extreme sense of doubt in his heart. Something was off again. He pulled himself out of the covers and away from Peko and began to put his shoes on. There was a lump in his throat that was getting bigger and bigger with each passing second, and it felt like it was about to suffocate him.

He set out for the beach, but he didn’t get there, because he smelled something familiar a little ways down the line of rooms. Stopping to investigate, he followed his nose, seeking the source of the overpowering scent of blood and death.

It didn’t take him long to find her.

Sonia’s body was nailed up to the wall outside her room just has Souda had been, and almost every other bit about her murder mirrored his. Deep, long gashes were torn into her chest and stomach, and that same odd pattern consisting of lines and seemingly random geometric patterns had been painted behind her. 

Kuzuryuu’s cry alerted everyone else to the scene of the crime.

"What the hell?" Owari cried. "Not Sonia-san, too!"

Kuzuryuu’s mind was full of confusion. What the hell was going on? Who was killing all of them? Yesterday, with Souda, he slightly suspected Sonia of doing it, but now there was no way she could have done it. She couldn’t have copied this style of murdering, even if she wanted to. The design was far too elaborate for someone without experience.

Hinata let out a startled gasp when he arrived, but once again, Peko said nothing.

"Who’s doing this?" questioned Kuzuryuu, horror in his voice. "Who could have done this to them!"

Akane and Hinata turned to him, looks of sympathy on their faces.

"I’m sorry, Kuzuryuu," Hinata said. "But… doesn’t it seem strange?"

He blinked. “What seems strange?”

"Souda accuses Pekoyama one day, and then the next he is found dead. Sonia-san accuses Pekoyama, and now she is dead too, and in the exact same way, too." Hinata observed the patterns behind her. "The patterns are exactly the same, indicating they could have only been done by the same person… "

"I don’t believe in that dark magic crap," Akane started, "but take a look at her body." She pointed towards the gashes in Sonia’s stomach. "Those aren’t human! It looks like some kind of wild animal tore at her!"

Hinata took a closer look at the body as well, nodding his head. “Yes, it does seem that way…”

Kuzuryuu’s heart stopped. They were accusing Peko? But she would never do something like this! “What the fuck! Peko didn’t do shit, so stop accusing her! It’s one of you guys trying to put the blame on her using this black magic bullshit!”

"Like hell!" Akane growled. "I wouldn’t do something this messed up! Hinata wouldn’t either!" She turned to Hinata, who nodded. "Pekoyama’s the most suspicious! She came back from the dead! That’s not normal!"

Peko didn’t respond to the accusation. She simply stood there, emotionless and unmoving.

Kuzuryuu glanced at her. Why wasn’t she saying anything? Apprehension swelled up within him. “I said, she didn’t come back to life, I found—”

"Sure, you found her! But she seemed pretty damn dead to me when we buried her!" snapped Akane. Gazing at the swordswoman, she began to ball her hands up into fists. "Sonia-san was right about you, you beast!!"

Without warning, Akane violently lunged for Peko. Kuzuryuu’s heart raced and panicked at the sight, screaming out for her to stop and not to hurt Peko for such a ridiculous reason. Hinata, on the other hand, stepped forward, telling Akane that she needed to hold back just a moment. But Akane ignored them, and went straight for Peko’s throat, intending to attack her.

It all happened so suddenly that Kuzuryuu could barely process it. One moment, Akane was about to attack Peko, her hands going at her throat, but the next thing anyone knew, Peko’s fist was plunged straight through the gymnast’s stomach, sending blood splattering everywhere. Akane let out a dying shriek of shock as she looked down at the hand that had gone right through her flesh, trying to comprehend how such a thing had happened to her. Swiftly, Peko pulled her arm back down, sending the girl to the ground with a hollow thud. 

Peko’s entire body was splattered with blood, but her hand was soaked in it. She raised her hand up to her face to observe it, and that’s when Kuzuryuu noticed something off. Where Peko previously had fingernails, she now had hideous, sharp, long claws like a wild beast’s protruding from each of her fingers. She brought one of her fingers to her mouth, darting out her tongue briefly to lick up a little bit of the blood.

Kuzuryuu stared in horror, and Peko’s gaze reached out to meet his. Her eyes felt like they were piercing into his soul and ripping him to shreds. They were no longer the same loving eyes he had looked into just a day before.

"W-What the hell…" he gasped, backing away. "What…"

Hinata was equally as shocked. “So that’s what Sonia meant when she said ‘it wasn’t Peko anymore…’” he muttered.

Indeed, looking at her now, Kuzuryuu realized. This Peko wasn’t Peko Pekoyama. Perhaps she had once been a long time ago, but almost all of her had twisted and faded away. What stood before him was the remains of his trusted swordswoman, who had been transformed into a horrible demon that he had raised from the depths of Hell itself. He had indeed summoned Peko, but Peko’s soul had already been corrupted beyond repair.

Peko’s eyes flashed. She leapt with inhuman speed at Hinata, and raked her demonic claws down his chest, causing him to scream in pain. As he fell to the floor, Peko pinned him down. She didn’t change the emotionless look on her face as she began to tear at him again and again, making suffer before he inevitably died of blood loss.

Kuzuryuu couldn’t say anything. His mouth was wide open. He couldn’t believe the sight before him, of his swordswoman so corrupt and evil. He took a few steps back, wanting to run and hide from her, but also unable to. What had all that kissing and cuddling been, then? Had he really been sharing his love with this demon instead of Peko?

"Fuyuhiko, do not be alarmed," she said. "I want to explain things to you."

Kuzuryuu could only manage a shaky nod.

"When I died in the game, I remembered everything I had done in my days of despair. My mind was corrupted and confused, bordering between life and death. All I could hear was the screams of the people who I murdered so brutally in that time," she began to explain. "I could hear you, Fuyuhiko. I could hear your pain when you had to watch me die, and I listened to your every cry whenever you remembered that I wasn’t by your side. I wanted to reach out and grab for you, but I couldn’t. It was torture."

She walked over to him, but the yakuza heir didn’t move. “It was Hell, Fuyuhiko. I had gone to Hell for all those things I had done. And there, I was changed…” She held up her hands to show him her twisted claws, coated in the blood of their friends. “I became a demon, hungry for evil and revenge. But mostly… I longed for you.”

She looked down at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. “I missed you, Fuyuhiko. And only though it had been less than a day since I actually died, it felt like millions of years in Hell. When you pulled me from Hell, it was too late. I had already been changed…” Her voice was cracking up. “But… But… I was so glad to have you.. And you promised that you would stay with me forever, just as I had always wanted… and then everyone started to accuse me of being a monster and… I had to kill them… because they were getting in the way… But now…” She collapsed fully on the ground, sobs shaking her entire body. “You’ve found out the truth, and now, all those deaths were for nothing! I killed them all for no reason! I don’t know why, Fuyuhiko! I didn’t really want to kill them at all! Even when I saw Hinata, a part of me just needed to kill him!”

Kuzuryuu was terrified and heartbroken at the same time. If this was all real, what she was saying, then she had truly been tortured and broken. He could never imagine what that felt like. However, that didn’t excuse what she had done. She had killed four of his precious friends for such ridiculous reasons, and in such a brutal way, too… He leaned down and placed a hand on her back reassuringly.

"I understand, Peko," he told her. "But I… I don’t think I can forgive you.. for that…"

Peko’s face darted up, looking at Kuzuryuu with devastation in her eyes. “Why?” she asked.

"Because… Peko, you must have suffered so much for me, but you didn’t need to kill anyone… I wouldn’t have minded… even if you had become some kind of demon, if you didn’t kill anyone… It would have been fine…" Tears started to well up in his eyes as he looked at his lover, who was absolutely broken by his words. "I can’t forgive you, Peko… I’m sorry…"

Peko sobbed openly at his words. Her tears dripped down to the ground. “Then… if you can’t… I… I will have to compromise with you…”

Kuzuryuu blinked. “What do you mean?”

"You’re coming with me instead." With those words, Peko plunged her fist into Kuzuryuu’s stomach. He barely felt the pain with the shock of how sudden it was. All he could focus on was her face, which was slowly getting blurry…

"I’m taking you… back to Hell with me…"

Those were the last things he heard before he was plunged into the darkness with her.


End file.
